Chevrolet Trailblazer

Synopsis

The growing love of Indians for big cars is an indirect, open invitation for every manufacturer in the world to bring their metallic mammoths to the country. Chevrolet lost the same spirit a few years back and is ready now to gain the same lost charm through its new Trailblazer for the Indian market. The premium sized SUV comes with an influential spec-sheet and all the necessary features to rival the popular Toyota, Ford and Mitsubishi SUV's.

Exterior

The hard resemblance to a typical SUV design makes Chevrolet Trailblazer an easy to adopt figure for an Indian eye. The headlights are lesser aggressive than truly imposing SUV lights as they seems to be derived from a small segment car. The fog lamp section is small as compared to other big sized cars. The front fascia, when seen as a whole seems as uplifted version of a premium hatchback whereas the side profile clearly defines the purity of SUV underpinnings of the car. The rear view seems perfect for a new generation utility vehicle. Overall looks for the Trailblazer comes out to be average, keeping it bit behind the 2016 versions of the respective competitors.

Interior

The first look at the interior of the Trailblazer can make a car lover go crazy for it. The beautiful arrangement of every section of the car's interior brings a positive feel for every passenger, even the one seated in its third row. The dashboard is next to perfect and gets neat Black and Beige description. The most impressive part is its circular climate control system, looking perfectly placed and futuristic. It gets all the options ranging from various modes, defogger to the controls of rear AC. The touchscreen seems out of place as it gets a dull outline as compared to the glossy finish around the center of the dashboard. The gloss gets continued to the gearbox unit and the huge armrest in the center continues the charm of Black into the Beige colored seats.

Instrument Console

The Trailblazer gets an odd shaped hexagonal twin pod instrument console with a MID in the center. The pods are further classified with black outlines, which divide the left pod into analog speedometer and temperature gauge whereas the right into analog tachometer and fuel gauge. The MID gets toggle-able options like digital speedometer, trip meter, odometer and other car related settings. The blue backlit display and dull black pod outlines seem good but lack the premium feel of a chrome lined console.

Engine & Gearbox

The best feature on the Trailblazer is its engine for sure. It gets a 2776 cc, 4-cylinder Duramax turbo-diesel motor producing 197.2 BHP @ 3,800 rpm and 500 NM @ 2,000 rpm. The mind blowing power figures define it to be the best option in the segment. The car gets a 0-100 kmph time of 9.89 seconds, making it number 1 in terms of overall performance in the segment. It’s not the time which is surprising but the fact is that it weighs 2068 kg. Pushing this much weight is not at all an easy job for a sub 3.0 L engine and this makes the Duramax motor a real gem for Chevrolet. It gets an option of 6-speed automatic transmission only.

Suspension & Braking

The Trailblazer gets independent short long arms for the front suspension whereas the rear uses 5-link suspension with coil spring. The setup is excellent and the car purely justifies its worth of being a full size SUV. The 265/60R18 wheels on the car make it more stable and even cosmetically improve its overall grace with 6-spoke alloy wheels. The brakes on the front wheels are ventilated dual piston disc units whereas the rear uses solid singe piston discs for the braking purpose.

Comfort & Safety

Chevrolet had done its best this time for the enhanced comfort of all the passengers in the Trailblazer. It gets a separate air conditioning option for the rear and comes with abundance of space for all the seats. If this feels less, the car gets electronic cruise control and comes with steering mounted audio as well as calling controls. The height adjustable seats make it more comfortable for drivers with varying heights. It gets power windows, adjustable steering, rain sensing wipers and headlights, sunroof and many more features. All the 7 seats have their separate adjustable headrests for a comfortable ride experience.

When it comes to safety, again the Trailblazer gets a clear win by providing features like limited slip differential, panic brake indication, 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, parking sensors, traction control, ESP, brake assist and hill assist controls. Central locking and and keyless entry makes it feel more safe and easy to use.

Price

The Chevrolet Trailblazer has been launched with a price tag of INR 26,40,000. The price has been tagged as introductory and would rise in the coming year. Being close to INR 30 lakh, the SUV will interfere in many non-similar segments of premium cars, further being a negative count for the car.